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Water tested after body found in LA hotel tank

British tourist Michael Baugh and his wife said water had only trickled for days as they brushed their teeth, showered and drank from the taps at the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, but they could not have imagined the disturbing reason.

The body of a Canadian woman was later discovered at the bottom of one of four cisterns on the roof of the historic hotel near the homeless area known as Skid Row. The tanks provide water for hotel taps and would have been used by guests for washing and drinking.

“The moment we found out, we felt a bit sick to the stomach, quite literally,” Baugh said.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials were expected to release the results of tests on the water on Thursday.

A man, left, leaves the Cecil Hotel with belongings as Michael and Sabina Baugh, both 27, of Plymouth, England, wait for transportation as they leave the hotel in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013. Early Tuesday, police discovered the body of a Canadian woman at the bottom of the historic hotel's water tank, weeks after she was reported missing. - AP

When the body of 21-year-old Elisa Lam was discovered on Tuesday, officials issued a do-not-drink order while a lab analyzes the water, said Terrance Powell, a director coordinating the department’s response.

The disclosure contradicts a previous police statement that the water had been deemed safe.

Powell said the water was also used for cooking in the hotel; a coffee shop in the hotel would remain closed and has been instructed to sanitize its food equipment before reopening.

“Our biggest concern is going to be fecal contamination because of the body in the water,” Powell said. He said the likelihood of contamination is “minimal” given the large amount of water the body was found in, but the department is being extra cautious.

A call to the hotel was not returned.

Lam’s remains were found by a maintenance worker after guests complained about the low water pressure.

Police detectives were working to determine if her death was the result of foul play or an accident.

LAPD Sgt. Rudy Lopez called it suspicious and said a coroner’s investigation will determine the cause of death.

Before she died, hotel surveillance footage showed Lam inside an elevator pushing buttons and sticking her head out the doors, looking in both directions.

Lam, of Vancouver, British Columbia, traveled alone to Los Angeles on Jan. 26 and was last seen five days later by workers at the hotel.

Her body was found Tuesday morning at the bottom of one cistern that was about three-quarters full of water, Lopez said.

The opening at the top of the cistern is too small to accommodate firefighters and equipment, so they had to cut a hole in the storage tank to recover Lam’s body.

The cisterns are on a platform at least 10 feet (3 meters) above the roof.

To get to the tanks, someone would have to go to the top floor, then take a staircase with a locked door and emergency alarm preventing roof access. Another ladder would have to be taken to the platform, and a person would have to climb the side of the tank.

Lopez said there are no security cameras on the roof.

Lam intended to travel to Santa Cruz, about 350 miles (560 kilometers) north of Los Angeles. Officials said she tended to use public transportation and had been in touch with her family daily until she disappeared.

The Cecil Hotel is in a part of downtown where efforts at gentrification often conflicts with homelessness and crime. It had once been the occasional home of infamous serial killers such as Richard Ramirez, known as the Night Stalker, and Austrian prison author Jack Unterweger, who was convicted of murdering nine prostitutes in Europe and the U.S., the Los Angeles Times reported.

By noon Wednesday, the Cecil Hotel had relocated 27 rooms used by guests to another hotel, but 11 rooms remained filled, Powell said. Those who chose to remain in the hotel were required to sign a waiver in which they acknowledged being informed of the health risks and were being provided bottled water, Powell said.

Baugh and his wife, who were on their first trip to the U.S., were trying to find a new hotel. Their tour agency placed them in another downtown hotel with a less than sterling reputation, from what they heard.

“We’re just going from one dodgy place to another,” Baugh said, resigned, “but at least there’s water.”